"“The most difficult part of birth is the first year afterwards. It is the year of travail – when the soul of a woman must birth the mother inside her. It is a private and silent process, but no less holy than the event of childbirth, perhaps it is even more sacred.”
– Joy Kusek
POSTPARTUM DOULA SERVICES
I strive to STRENGTHEN your confidence in your own instincts, build healthy choices & routine, and elevate your connection to yourself and your baby so that following the completion of our time together you are well positioned to parent your baby as well as yourself, and relate to your other family members from a place of SATISFACTION, BALANCE, AND FULLNESS.
I offer traditional postpartum doula care, as well as birth trauma support and postpartum ritual care.
As your postpartum doula, I serve as a quiet, efficient extra set of hands, a sympathetic ear and a reassuring presence. Some days my role will be to offer helpful suggestions for breastfeeding, tidy up your kitchen or demonstrate infant care tasks, and other days, it will be to listen, give a hug and provide non-judgmental validation about whatever you are struggling with. Hallmarks of my approach include fixing small snacks, teas and water for you on the nightstand or wherever you are feeding your baby, and checking in with you about how things are going over a warm foot bath.
My goal is for you to feel that someone is looking out for and tending to YOU while simultaneously fostering your ability to stand on your own two feet.
Postpartum doulas fill an important gap in modern life, where families are spread out and neighbors often don't know each other enough to ask for or give assistance during such a vulnerable time. With high rates of postpartum depression and traumatic birth, lack of sufficient (or any) paid leave for most parents, and general lack of support after hospital discharge, postpartum doulas provide invaluable services: easing the shock of life with a new baby, instilling confidence, lightening the burden of other household obligations and setting families up for less stressful adjustment.
In addition to nonjudgmental support and reassurance, as a postpartum doula I may provide assistance with the following:
- recovering from and processing the birth experience
- routine building and mindfulness skills
- preparing warming teas & healing foods
- drawing sitz baths and teaching gentle movement for intentional healing
- locating outside resources for additional support
- guidance with breastfeeding & sleep
- light housekeeping
- holding or wearing baby so the client can shower, eat, rest or spend time with a spouse or older child(ren)
- teaching babywearing
- help with infant care, cues and soothing
- overall nurturing you in your new role as a mother
Please see the FAQs below for information on the limitations of postpartum doula care.
In-home, daytime support: $30/hr. within a 30 mile radius of Menomonie, WI. I am open to traveling beyond beyond my normal service area for $35/hr on a case-by-case basis. Minimum 4 hour shifts, scheduled around birth doula clients.
Overnight support: $40/hr. 8-12 hour shifts available.
Deposit: I take a non-refundable deposit of between $360 - $420 to reserve your spot on my calendar. This deposit covers 12 hours of postpartum care and will be applied toward your last visit(s) with me. Payment is due in advance for all other days scheduled.
Please note: Additional fees apply in some circumstances, such as if support is rendered on a holiday or outside the home (e.g., caring for you while you are hospitalized).